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Saturday, 20 July 2013

Urmston Book Shop

I visited this delightful bookshop on a warm Thursday
afternoon a couple of weeks before the schools broke up for the summer. It was
deliciously quiet in there. A backdoor was open and a refreshing breeze made
both the shop and the café bearable.

I first met owners Frances and Peter Hopkins when they
supplied the books for the Prestwich Bookfest. It’s clear that they work very
hard, and that owning an independent bookshop is very demanding and is about
more than selling books.

The bookshop hosts several reading groups, holds book
launches and photographic exhibitions and occasional film nights. There is a
back room and this is sometimes hired out for meetings and workshops.

The café is tiny but a real treat. There are just a few what
I would call proper bistort tables and attractive olive-green folding chairs. The cakes are pretty but delicious, too. They
are supplied by local independent enterprises - The Bear Who Bakes, Elaine’s
Creative Cakes and Urmston cakes. I settled for the lemon drizzle and one of
the best cups of tea I ever drunk.

My purpose was two-fold in visiting the shop that day. I
wanted to buy some books for a course I’m teaching next year. I also wanted to
check out the café and see if it passed muster. I’m pleased to say the café is joining
the project. It’s good also to support an
independent bookshop Sure, I buy books and sell my own via Amazon – and don’t
have a guilty conscience about that. But it’s good to go into a bookshop and
browse – especially when you’re looking for picture books.